Category: Uncategorized

New York Waterway currently has a facility in Weehawken Township that is facing backlash from local residents. The residents made attempts to meet with political officials to address their concerns, but have been unsuccessful. One of the main issues is the air and noise pollution from the facility that is very close to residents. New York Waterway’s maintenance facility was originally in Hoboken, and due to backlash from their mayor, its facility was pushed one community north to Weehawken, where the mayor has not has not provided any public commentary on the matter. Locals have also elaborated on NY Waterway’s shady past behaviors and do not trust that what they are doing in Weehawken is as advertised. Residents, who have been battling NY Waterway and the township for years, feel like they are getting the short end of the stick, especially compared to Hoboken. While the NYWW facility was supposed to be a temporary site, it appears that it has evolved into a permanent site. One of the main problems is that the township does not have the authority to shut down a facility through eminent domain. It appears that the overall issue is that there is a compromise that cannot be reached. 

The angle I want to report on is specifically the long political battle Weehawken residents have had over the past number of years, where they are lacking in political influence/having their voices heard. In terms of research, I’m sure that I can find sources from the Weehawken Life facebook page and information from past council meetings. I also discovered the names of some of the main advocates against NYWW, such as Cassandra Porsch. Dr. Harold Davis is a member of the community who is a valid source to discuss the health perspective/argument.

Building a better Bronx. The Bronx is known for having a bad reputation. What if that can be challenged by digging beyond the surface. Turns out that there’s a huge community that is overlooked when we think of the Bronx. In the Bronx, particularly the Bronx River people are coming together to make a difference in their community. For example, they are beginning with our youth. They are educating our young minds by providing them with programs and opportunities to be involved in activities at the Bronx river. They are running a marathon in New York City for charity. They are implementing safety enhancements in East tremont. They understand that people would like to expand more access to parks and less to motor vehicles. They offer tons of volunteer experiences for everyone. They participate in coastal cleanups, tree planting, food stewardship events, and many more. They even have an event where 2000 people come out onto canoes into the Bronx river. They have people that can’t even swim risking their lives to be a part of something more and bigger than themselves. This is also great because this helps people connect with their community and each other. “When you volunteer, you’ll see the “different” side of the Bronx, the birds, fish, and interrelated connection of nature.” But with all of this..Can we still build a better Bronx? Can we eliminate all the crime? If we clean up everything. What’s stopping the people who don’t care from destroying it all over again.

Long Island has had a water quality problem for decades. Unlike the beautiful Catskills water that New York City uses, Long Island’s drinking water comes from an underground aquifer. VOCs, a class of chemicals, are the most prevalent groundwater contaminant on Long Island (volatile organic compounds). They are typically regarded as hazardous compounds. It can cause many problems since the water on Long Island is more vulnerable to chemicals called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS are extremely dangerous compounds that are permanently present in waterproofing, firefighting, and nonstick goods. They accumulate in our bodies over thousands of years and take a very long time to degrade. Ingesting too much of the chemical can cause cancers, immunity, fertility, and academic difficulties since it has all been linked to exposure. Any solutions would be difficult to execute since Long Islanders use their water above ground, so any land activity has the potential to contaminate the groundwater below.

In researching this topic, I plan to utilize local news sites, published city documents regarding this topic. I planned to join social media groups and talk to organizations and activists such as the North Shore Land Alliance and Long Island Clean Water Partnership to get more information on their impact on the community. I also planned to interview local residents to see if they are aware of this ongoing issue and what are their reactions.

The East River has been polluted since the early days of the Industrial Revolution from street runoff, storm drains, and illegal dumping into the waters. The East River/ estuary has been becoming inhabitable for many species, for many years. In Williamsburg Brooklyn, a man-made waterfront has been approved by the New York City Council for construction to be built in 2024. The construction will include the addition of three large high-rise apartment buildings, a sandy beach, and green pools that are disconnected from the harbor and independent from the city sewer, electric grid, and storm water overflow: with the addition of other recreational activities for people to enjoy.

This project is officially called the River Ring waterfront that is being created to restore the habitat and create a space where New Yorkers can enjoy safe, protected water access. Newly protective waters will help restore the coastal habitat by implementing natural features that improve water quality; making it more safe to interact with the waterway. The public waterfront is a privately funded project that does not impede on New Yorkers tax dollars. The project will also be an addition to the future of renewable energy and a power source in emergency situations.

We know the East River is ready for this restoration, but are the people ready to protect the new waterfront? The project is backed by counts of expert testimonials, but the future is how the people treat the new recreational area and the surrounding areas of the East River: which is shown to be negatively affected in the past.

Residents of Jamaica Bay and the surrounding areas oftentimes experience the effects of the surging climate issues that surround them on a first-hand basis. It brings me to wonder how the government is dealing with such issues and how hard they are really working to lessen the impact on these neighborhoods. It also raises a socioeconomic lens in terms of the status of the communities being affected proportionately compared to those who live in better neighborhoods such as Broad Channel and have more power to get things done it seems like. It seems as though lower-income, less educated communities are often overlooked while more well-off communities are being heard and dealt with accordingly. May also be a race issue as well as more minorities tend to live in these communities where these issues are common.

In researching this topic, I plan to utilize news sites, statistics, join social media groups, talk with activists, and visit the area to also talk with community members. I am interested in the quality of life in different areas depending on status (income level and race) and how affected that community is by the environmental concerns around them. Statistics may include schools, housing prices, income, race, amenities, and response rate of first responders. 

I would like to pitch the issue of flooding in Canarsie, Brooklyn due to climate change and the rising sea level. Prior to Hurricane Sandy, Canarsie was not mapped on the floodplain, but now it is expected to flood severely in 30 years. In 2017, the flooding issue in Canarsie was addressed as a part of the Resilient Neighborhoods initiative recommending updating zoning and land use regulations and investing in coastal infrastructure. From since then, some houses in the neighborhood have been elevated to prevent flooding and Governor Hochul announced the beginning of construction on a $14 million project to protect sections along Canarsie’s shoreline from severe flooding by installing tide gate chambers. Most recently, in 2022 the U.S. Army Corps proposed a $52 billion project that could further protect the shorelines of Brooklyn and Queens, including Canarsie, from flooding by building moveable sea barriers across the mouths of major bays and inlets along New York Harbor.

While these all sound like great ways to solve this issue of flooding, how much does Canarsie actually benefit from this? Have there been any changes in the fate of this neighborhood located right on Jamaica Bay? The city is recommending that homeowners retrofit their homes against flooding, but who is paying for these changes?

In building this story, the bulk of my research will come from local news sites and published city documents regarding the Resilient Neighborhoods initiative. I also hope to visit Canarsie Pier and the surrounding areas to access changes that have been made as well as document the conditions. I expect any remaining research to come from any social media groups I may find and interviews with community board members that are familiar with the issue.

The severe coastal storm risk to the New York area, fully realized by the onset of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, has prompted the introduction of an over $50 billion plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the New York and New Jersey region’s tributaries and coastline.

The plan is “conceptual” and “preliminary”, but its massive and wide-reaching implications mean that no person should be caught unaware.

It was the outcome of the NY & NJ Harbor Tributaries Study, or HATS, that assessed the risk of the region to intense, 100, 200 and 500-year storms (storms thought to only occur once in each respective time period) and offered some solutions. HATS was a part of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law by president Obama in 2013.

The main, tentatively selected plan out of five is called Alternative 3B.

It would involve the construction and operation of many large-scale primary features. Massive church gate structures would be built on the Arthur Kill and at the Kill Van Kull that protect the inland of New Jersey at the southern and top tips of Staten Island. Along the shoreline in South Brooklyn, near Jamaica Bay, will be multiple surge gates, with three more smaller surge gates on some creeks near Red Hook, near Newtown and one in Flushing. Lower Manhattan, Jersey and East Harlem will receive a blend of elevated promenades, levees, deployable flood barriers and underwater floodwalls.

Other plans, like Plan 2, would see a gigantic wall with a storm surge gate built from New Jersey to Rockaway Point. The plans were drawn up to protect the region, while trying to maintain waterfront activity.

Construction isn’t set to begin until 2030, and residents are encouraged to inform the project and raise issues. However, how exactly will the agencies involved plan on going about connecting with the public?

With an extensive environmental justice and social vulnerability page, it would seem the study has taken into account any adverse effects the Alternative 3B plan could have on any communities that would be disproportionally vulnerable. But what are they actually doing to include memebers of these communities? Will the planners be speaking to them directly? What effects might the plan have on such communities?

How do these communities feel about the plan– do they even know about it yet?

I will reach out to community boards covering these areas, most notably where surge gates will be erected, as well as to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on their plan.

Also, might be too off beat, but with such a long-term plan attempted by an arm of the executive branch, will an administration change in the White House leave the plan unfinished?

I’d like to pitch around one of if not the most polluted canals in our nation- that by the name of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Once located in an industrial area where factories were located and polluted the water ways, the canal has long contained chemicals and heavy metals that are poisonous to humans. A great renovation has taken place, but so has rezoning for residential housing, which some in the community have no taken kindly of. Groups such as VoiceOfGowanus have made clear stances against the desire to develop an 82-block zone of 3000 affordable units in the neighborhood- which opposers say would have people living on poisoned land- which is still a danger to future inhabitants.

Part of my research and contribution to the story will be collecting opinions from blogs, contacting organization members such as VoiceOfGowanus and contacting any institution/ organization with influence in the area for their opinion on the proposed housing developments in the area. I’ll present points of interest from both sides, and the data collected showing the dangers for possible residents.

Flooding is a problem many of the communities near Jamaica Bay face. With rising sea-levels, it is normal for communities such as Howard Beach to be underwater and not be able to get out of their communities. Even though these flooding occurances have been more frequent since many of the repairs that have had to be made after Sandy, there has been a vast increase (approvimately 44%) in property values nearing the waterways. There is a little over $176 billion in property value in the areas surrounding Jamaica Bay. However, these properties are facing more and more problems due to the decline in the coastline’s ability to fight off flooding and are at a high risk for being damaged. This has a big impact on the real estate market’s affordability in these areas as conditions worsen. With increase risks, the insurance for properties will take a sharp increase. With the additional cost faced by commmunity members of this neighbohood on top of mortgage payments, there because a great burden on the community members financially. What is the financial tragectory of the people in the neighborhoods near Jamaica bay, with their decline in cashflow and a hard to sell/risky to keep asset within their portfolio.